Our Team

Meet the SeaBee Team!

Steering Committee Members

Instruments and sensors
Anders Gjørwad Hagen

Statistical and Image Analysis
Arnt-Børre Salberg

Senior Research Scientist
Geir Helge Rødli Systad

Environmental Data Science
Kristoffer Kalbekken

Engineering Cybernetics
Tor Arne Johansen

Instruments and sensors

Anders Gjørwad Hagen

Research leader

Anders is a senior research scientist and research leader at NIVA, and work package leader for WP1 (Drone Infrastructure Specification & Establishment) in SeaBee. Anders is specialized in fish physiology and chemical river treatments against the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris.

He also leads a group of instrument engineers at NIVA, and together they are responsible for the purchase and specification of drones and sensors in the SeaBee project.

Work Package:Drone Infrastructure Specification & Establishment

Org:NIVA

Statistical and Image Analysis

Arnt-Børre Salberg

Senior Research Scientist

Arnt is senior research scientist at Section for Earth Observation at Norwegian Computing Center. He’s the WP3 lead and is responsible for the team working on data analysis and developing AI-models to create SeaBee products like e.g. coastal vegeation maps and animal counts.

Work Package:Data Analysis

Org:Norwegian Computing Center

Senior Research Scientist

Geir Helge Rødli Systad

Seabirds are magnificent creatures. They are important top predators in marine systems. And they are suitable as models for describing ecological processes and principles.

Geir Helge Rødli Systad is a research scientist working with seabirds in Norwegian waters, covering distribution, monitoring and life history. He has functioned as a consulting seabird ecologist for national management plans in Norwegian waters since 2003 and is member of the SEAPOP and SEATRACK research groups.

Org:Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Marine biology

Hege Gundersen

Senior Research Scientist, Project Co-Lead

Hege is a senior research scientist at the marine biology section at NIVA with research focus on blue forest habitats, such as kelp and seagrass – their ecosystem services and spatial distribution. Hege co-leads SeaBee together with Kasper.

Org:NIVA

Marine biology

Kasper Hancke

Senior Research Scientist, Project Lead

Kasper is a senior research scientist at NIVA and project leader for SeaBee. Kasper’s expertise is in marine ecology and his research focuses on how biological, physical and chemical processes control coastal ecosystems and their response to climate change. He has developed and improved several techniques for environmental measurements and monitoring and has a keen interest in bio-optics, autonomous vehicles and remote sensing.

Org:NIVA

Environmental Data Science

Kristoffer Kalbekken

Kristoffer is research manager and head of the environmental data science and informatics group at NIVA. He’s the WP4 lead and is responsible for the team working towards building SeaBee’s solution for data storage, processing and distribution, alongside WP3.

Org:NIVA

Marine Mammals

Martin Biuw

I have extensive experience in marine mammal research, going back to my master’s degree in zoology at Stockholm University 1996-1997. I have worked extensively with southern elephant seals in the Souther Ocean, initially through a PhD at the University of St Andrews linked to the Australian Antarctic Division in Australia. I have worked extensively with the development of innovative instrumentation methods for the study of migratory patterns and ecophysiology in marine mammals, as well as instrumentation for collecting oceanographic data using marine mammals.

Org:Norwegian Institute of Marine Research

Communications

Rob Barnes

Head of Programme, Technology and Innovation, WP 6 Lead

Rob has been working at GRID-Arendal since 2001. He is the Head of Programme for Technology and Innovation. He’s the WP 6 lead and is responsible for the communication and outreach products of the SeaBee project. Rob is also a certified drone pilot, using drones to capture footage from around the world, and has conducted several workshops involving their use.

Work Package:Communication Outreach & Branding

Org:GRID-Arendal

Engineering Cybernetics

Tor Arne Johansen

Professor, WP 2 Lead

Tor Arne Johansen has an MSc and PhD degree, both in electrical and computer engineering, from NTNU, Norway. From 1995 to 1997, he worked at SINTEF as a researcher before he was appointed Associated Professor at NTNU in 1997 and Professor in 2001. He has published several hundred articles in the areas of control, estimation and optimization with applications in the marine, aerospace, automotive, biomedical and process industries. Prof. Johansen is currently a principal researcher within the Center of Excellence on Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (NTNU-AMOS) and director of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Laboratory at NTNU and the SmallSat Laboratory at NTNU.

Work Package:Establishing Operational Nodes & Drone Operations

Org:The Norwegian University of Science & Technology

Marine biology

Trine Bekkby

Senior Research Scientist, WP 5 Lead

Trine is a research scientist working with marine coastal ecosystems, particularly focusing on variation and change in species and habitats, blue forests in particular, effects of kelp cultivation and on restoration of marine habitats in Norway and Internationally. She uses spatial analyses, GIS, distribution modelling and image analyses as tools. In SeaBee, Trine is WP5 lead, ensuring efficient field campaigns, design and field coordination between partners in the work with field validation of drone images.

Org:NIVA

Core Members

Consulting/Drone operations
Robert Nøddebo Poulsen

Education pilots/Drone operations
Terje Kristensen

Education pilots/Drone operations
Mats Mikalsen Kristensen

Environmental Data Science
Håkon Drolsum Røkenes

Environmental Data Science
James Edward Sample

Engineering Cybernetics
Frederik Stendahl Leira

Statistical and Image Analysis
Jarle Reksten

Consulting/Drone operations

Robert Nøddebo Poulsen

Independent consultant and owner of SpectroFly and agrohydrologerne with 10 years of experience in research, development and consultancy work at DHI. Specialized in catchment hydrology and water quality including assessments of agricultural productions interaction with water and environment.

Education pilots/Drone operations

Terje Kristensen

Education pilots/Drone operations

Mats Mikalsen Kristensen

Oceanography

Sabine Marty

Org:NIVA

Marine biology

Guri Sogn Andersen

Guri is a marine biologist from Norway, and hold a PhD degree in the field of kelp forest ecology. She is currently working as a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo (NIVA).

Org:NIVA

Environmental Data Science

Håkon Drolsum Røkenes

Org:NIVA

Environmental Data Science

James Edward Sample

Following a Masters’ degree in Natural Sciences (geology, mathematics, physics and chemistry) in 2004, James worked as a GIS specialist at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge. Responsibilities included overseeing all undergraduate teaching in ArcGIS for geological mapping, as well as contributing research and imagery to a series of popular science books describing the landscape evolution of the UK. He also provided GIS support to the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Project, developing geotectonic models for the evolution of the Arctic Basin. Since 2010, James’ research has focused on spatio-temporal modelling of surface and groundwater hydrology and geochemistry, with a particular emphasis on the relationships between land use, climate change and water resources. Before moving to NIVA, he worked at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, where he led a number of Scottish Government work packages including “Water Futures”, “Hydropower” and “Impacts of Change on Water”. He has worked closely with policy makers and environmental regulators at the Scottish Government, providing modelling results for Scotland’s four-yearly review of the EU Nitrates Directive, as well as contributing research to support the second cycle of River Basin Management Planning under the EU Water Framework Directive. James is especially interested in how environmental models can or cannot be used to effectively support practical decision making. Key research challenges in this area include issues of scale, complexity, uncertainty and communication. His recent research projects have explored varied modelling approaches, ranging from the application of dynamic, process-based models calibrated using Bayesian MCMC methods, to simpler, qualitative risk classification frameworks underpinned by expert elicitation.

Org:NIVA

Instruments and sensors

Medyan Ghareeb

Org:NIVA

Biology

Geir Johnsen

Geir Johnsen is a professor in marine biology at the Department of Biology (NTNU at Trondhjem biological station, TBS), Prof II at University Centre on Svalbard (UNIS), and is one of the founding partners in a NTNU spin-off company Ecotone using new optical techniques for mapping and monitoring the marine environment. He is a key scientist in the Centre of excellence (CeO) “Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (AMOS) using enabling technology for marine ecological studies.

Engineering Cybernetics

Frederik Stendahl Leira

Engineering Cybernetics

Pål Kvaløy

Engineering Cybernetics

Joseph Garrett

Joseph is currently working on hyperspectral imaging and image processing from satellites and drones

Sindre Molværsmyr

Statistical and Image Analysis

Jarle Reksten

Communications

Debhasish Bhakta

Lead GIS Developer, Technology and Innovation

Debhasish is GRID-Arendal’s GIS Developer. He has a background in forestry and geo-informatics and worked for the Indian Space Research Organization. He is supporting WP 4 and is responsible for web interfacing.

Org:GRID-Arendal

Communications

Guendalina De Luigi

Communications Officer

Guendalina is a recent communications graduate with an international background. She’s a Communications Officer at GRID-Arendal and is part of the WP 6 team for SeaBee, producing content for the website and other communications products.

Org:GRID-Arendal

Communications

Svein Rasmussen

Associate Expert, Technology and Innovation

Svein is part of the Technology and Innovation team at GRID-Arendal. He is responsible for the management of the SeaBee website. He has a background in multimedia technology and design.

Org:GRID-Arendal

Coastal Wetland Ecology

Yalei Li

PhD Student, NIVA/ East China Normal University

Yalei is a joint PhD student at NIVA, majoring in Coastal Wetland Ecology from East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. In SeaBee, he is developing a novel procedure to map and quantify seaweed carbon deposition in beach zones by combining the drone imagery analysis and in-situ data collections.

Org:NIVA

Data and Image analysis

Izzie Yi Liu

Senior Research Scientist, WP 3

Izzie is a senior research scientist at the Norwegian Computing Center, working on image classification, segmentation and object detection. She has a PhD degree in applied geophysics from NTNU and a master degree in Physics from Uppsala University. In SeaBee, she is mainly focused on WP3, building structures for automated image analysis via cutting-edge deep learning algorithms.

External Core Members

Environmental Data Science
Zofia Rudjord

Oceanography

Andrew Luke King

Andrew King is a Research Manager in the Marine Biogeochemistry and Oceanography section. He also holds an Adjunct Assistant Professor appointment University of Illinois Chicago. He received his PhD in Chemical Oceanography in 2008 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The primary focus of King’s research is characterizing the oceanic distribution and supply of nutrient elements, especially bioactive trace elements, and elucidating their interaction with primary producers. His interests also include the effects of ocean acidification on marine biogeochemical cycles and phytoplankton physiology. He routinely combines field observations on research cruises and ships of opportunity with carefully designed shipboard and laboratory based experiments.

Org:NIVA

Engineering Cybernetics

Fred Sigernes

Communications

Janet Skaalvik

Janet joined GRID-Arendal in 1998 and have served as Head of Communications since 2013. Leading a team of communication professionals, her role is to provide strategic leadership for communication activities to advance the organization’s mission, objectives, and programme areas

Org:GRID-Arendal

Oceanography

Kai Sørensen

Kai is a specialist in optical remote sensing and development of automatic sensor system for water quality measurements. Specialization in sensor technology and use of sensor platforms as ships of opportunity. Long experience in development of analytical laboratory methods and optical in situ techniques. Member Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for satellite sensors. Principal investigator for international projects for ESA (VAMP) and EU-project REVAMP, FerryBox, DISMAR, NorSEN the national satellite project SATOCEAN, CoastColor, and the national activity on ships of opportunity (SOOP). Experience from optical measurements and remote sensing from lakes and has participated in the project “Light and Life in African Environment” (Lake Victoria). Work on water quality and sensor measurements on aquaculture including live fish transport harmful algal monitoring, lake monitoring using satellite technology.

Org:NIVA

Instruments and sensors

Kirk Meyer

Org:NIVA

Communications

Olivia Rempel

Digital Video Expert, Technology and Innovation

Olivia is a Canadian journalist and documentary filmmaker interested in sustainability and environmental issues. She began her career doing logistics and communications for Students on Ice, a non-profit that brings high school and university students to the Arctic and Antarctica on educational expeditions. Later she interned for PBS NOVA, led open-source investigations at the Human Rights Center at the UC Berkeley Law School, and worked on documentaries that have screened at numerous film festivals around the world, from Los Angeles, California, to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Org:GRID-Arendal

Arctic Ecology

Per Fauchald

Per Fauchald is an ecologist with long experience from interdisciplinary research on marine and terrestrial Arctic ecosystems. Much of his ecological research has focused on how trophic interactions shape the dynamics and spatial configuration of marine ecosystems. In several recent projects, he has studied how global change triggers transitions and shape sustainability outcomes in Arctic social-ecological systems.

Terrestrial ecology

Tycho Anker-Nilssen

Seabird ecologist and scientific coordinator of the Norwegian SEAPOP programme.

Org:NIVA

Environmental Data Science

Zofia Rudjord

Org:NIVA

Administration Team

NIVA project controller
Karoline Slettebø Arvidsson

NIVA project support team

Anne Josephine Nordbø

Coordinator, Project Support

Josephine is a coordinator in the project support section at NIVA, contributing with administrative support and coordination of the SeaBee project. She has a background in political science.

Org:NIVA

NIVA project controller

Karoline Slettebø Arvidsson

Financial Advisor, Project Controller

Karoline has a Master of Business and Economics within Finance & Project Management from UiA. She has more than 10 years of experience within international finance and business controlling. Her role in SeaBee is providing administrative support and finances.

Org:NIVA

Advisory Board

Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute
Brad Beach

Remote Sensing for Climate and Water Quality
Jamie Shutler

Faculty of Life Sciences, Fisheries and Economics
Michaela Aschan

Seksjon for miljødata og geoinformasjon
Ragnvald Larsen

Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute

Brad Beach

Remote Sensing for Climate and Water Quality

Jamie Shutler

Jamie Shutler is an Associate Professor at the University of Exeter, UK. He is an oceanographer and engineer with a wide range of interests that exploit in situ observations, remote sensing, satellite Earth observation and models to study and monitor land-water-atmosphere interactions and environment, particularly in relation to climate and water quality. This includes studying atmosphere-ocean gas exchange of climatically important gases, evaluating the quality of model and Earth observation data, developing novel approaches for water quality monitoring of bathing waters and aquaculture sites and land-water interactions in fresh water reservoirs. He has also published research on developing and exploiting computer vision techniques for biometrics (human gait), medical imaging (breast cancer) and surface ocean currents. His research has been featured in the Guardian Environment, BBC news, Al Jazeera TV, contributed to UK parliamentary enquiries (Ocean Acidification, 2017; Sustainable Seas, 2018) and guided international and inter-governmental agencies. His research team (JamieLab) currently comprises 1 post-doctoral researcher, 1 post-graduate research assistant and 7 PhD students. All of his research software is open-source and free to use.

Faculty of Life Sciences, Fisheries and Economics

Michaela Aschan

Michaela Aschan is Professor in Fisheries Biology and Management at UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, and has a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Helsinki, including additional training in statistics, geography and philosophy. She has served as the Vice Dan with responsibility for science activities at the Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics. This involves science strategic planning at the UiT level, overall responsibility for the PhD-education programme at the Faculty as a central role in the Faculty lead. This experience has given her leadership opportunities and training as well as the opportunity to assemble multidisciplinary teams for solving new scientific challenges. Her research covers a wide range of scientific areas including stock assessment and population biology of shellfish; fish and benthic communities; sampling design; bio-economic aspects of fisheries regulation and management; and climate induced changes in the marine ecosystem. She has wide experience from national projects, EU projects, other international projects as well as ICES Working Group leadership and participation and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification.

Seksjon for miljødata og geoinformasjon

Ragnvald Larsen

Geographer working for the Norwegian Environment Agency (NEA). Main tasks are GIS, geoprocessing and environment. Interested in emergency response systems and geoprocessing. Biggest current project is methods for sensitivity atlases. I am currently managing the drones at NEA.